MP3 At 3PM: Cliff Westfall

If a man is known by the company he keeps, then Cliff Westfall is a saint. Albeit in a country/rock sinner sort of way. The New York-based, Kentucky-bred singer/songwriter surrounded himself with a who’s-who of musicians’ musicians for new album Baby You Win. (Forgive us for the excessive use of parentheses in the following sentence.) For the dozen-track LP, Westfall enlisted co-producers Bryce Goggin (Pavement, Ramones, Antony And The Johnsons, Evan Dando, Phish) and Graham Norwood (Ward White), guitarist Scott Metzger (Shooter Jennings, Phil Lesh), pedal-steel player Dan Iead (Norah Jones, Valerie June), bassist Jeremy Chatzky (Ronnie Spector, Laura Cantrell), keyboardist Charles Giordano (Bruce Springsteen, Pat Benatar) and drummer David Christian (Danger Mouse, Helium). Recorded in just nine days, Baby You Win showcases Westfall’s keen ability to take the best bits of country and rock past and modernize (but not sterilize) them. Westfall will be playing August 19 with the Eilen Jewell Band at the Western Hotel in Callicoon, N.Y., but until then, you can check out album track “Sweet Tooth” right here, right now. Stream and/or download it below.